Comptroller Dan Hynes fired the first major shot of the 2010 political TV ad wars tonight, assailing Gov. Pat Quinn’s tax-increase plans and telling voters he warned discredited ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich about overspending.The 30-second ad, which started airing in the Chicago and Springfield TV markets, reheats an increasingly contentious battle for the Feb. 2 Democratic primary nomination for governor between Quinn, who was elevated from lieutenant governor with Blagojevich’s ouster in January, and Hynes, the three-term state comptroller.“As state comptroller, I warned Gov. Blagojevich about overspending but he wouldn’t listen. That governor is gone, but our problems aren’t. And Pat Quinn thinks the answer is to pass a 50 percent tax increase on every Illinois family,” Hynes says in the ad, which aired in Chicago on "Wheel of Fortune" tonight.
“I’m running for governor because I have a better plan. We can balance the budget by cutting waste line by line and only raising income taxes on people making more than $200,000. We can fix this mess and protect the middle class,” Hynes says.
Hynes’ campaign aides would not give details on the size of the TV ad buy but said they plan to have a substantial broadcast presence through the primary campaign.
Hynes has the money for a sustained TV campaign having reported more than $3.5 million in his campaign fund at the start of July. Quinn reported having more than $700,000 in the bank in July but has stepped up his fundraising efforts.
In a response issued tonight, Quinn maintained he has long advocated tax fairness.
“I’m running for governor because I have a better plan. We can balance the budget by cutting waste line by line and only raising income taxes on people making more than $200,000. We can fix this mess and protect the middle class,” Hynes says.
Hynes’ campaign aides would not give details on the size of the TV ad buy but said they plan to have a substantial broadcast presence through the primary campaign.
Hynes has the money for a sustained TV campaign having reported more than $3.5 million in his campaign fund at the start of July. Quinn reported having more than $700,000 in the bank in July but has stepped up his fundraising efforts.
In a response issued tonight, Quinn maintained he has long advocated tax fairness.
